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A cash donation of $600 left in a plastic bag on the back deck of Manly Fire Station last month could easily have been thrown in the bin by exhausted volunteers.
The volunteers were having a de-brief in the early hours of June 17, after a callout, when the bag was spotted in the dark and pulled out from where it was wedged under a piece of wood.
Deputy chief fire officer Shayne Kennedy says it was almost thrown away, until they glimpsed the $50 notes inside.
Also inside were two handwritten notes indicating that half the money was for St John and the other half for Manly Fire Brigade.
Manly Fire Station officer Mike Williamson says their share of the money has been put into the WET fund, used for Welfare, Equipment and Training purposes.
“Want to publicly thank the anonymous donor and let them know we’ve received the money and are most grateful for it,” he says. “We get anonymous donations from time to time, including boxes of beer, but we’ve never had anyone leave money out for us like that.”
“The fact that the money was divided between the two services suggests that it was a medical callout that we both attended,” Mike says.
Silverdale St John station manager Adam Harris says St John’s share will be put into a fund that is used for improvements to the station.
The two services often attend the same callouts, including medicals and car accidents.
Recently they have been working even more closely together – St John now uses the Manly station as a base for its second ambulance, speeding up the response to calls on Whangaparaoa Peninsula.
St John territory manager, Rodney District, Megan Fairley says this has had a positive impact on the outcome of several local callouts.
In addition, St John is training Manly’s volunteer fire fighters so that they can be First Responders. This enables them to perform a number of medical interventions, including administering adrenalin, with the assistance of St John’s clinical hub, via phone.
Shayne Kennedy says the relationship is of mutual benefit. “We are our own entities with our own protocols, but this collaboration results in a better service for the community,” he says.
The fire fighters and St Johns would like an opportunity to thank the mystery donor of the $600 in person and ask that they get in touch via Hibiscus Matters: Ph 427 8188; fax 427 8186; Unit G, Tamariki Plaza, Cammish Lane, Orewa, 0931; hibiscus@localmatters.co.nz
